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Convincing my parents, I was sick wasn’t difficult. I hadn’t missed a day of school in two and a half years and was on my way to another perfect attendance award. Dad kissed my forehead and told me to get better before he left for work. Mom made sure I had a sports drink next to me and told me to stay hydrated. I felt guilty deceiving them, but in the end, it had to be done.
Once I had the house to myself, I Facetimed Jason and Gwen, and we went over the plan. By nine, Gwen and I were in Jason’s 4 Runner, and we were on our way back to the Milner house.
“Here,” Gwen said from the back seat. “Pepper spray. My mom has a bunch of these around her room and makes me carry one. You two should have some kind of defense. Just in case.”
I took them both from her and handed one to Jason. “Good thinking.”
“Will we be alright doing this in broad daylight?” Jason speculated.
“I think so.” I explained, “The house is pretty isolated. I’m more worried about the security system. Although, I didn’t notice a keypad inside the door.”
“Me either,” Jason offered.
“What do we know about them?” Gwen inquired. “Like, what do they do for a living? That could give us some clue as to when they’ll be out.”
I checked my notes. “Thomas works in a garage for a car dealership. Kendra works in sales for an insurance company.”
“Those are both jobs with daytime hours,” Jason pointed out.
“Right,” I voiced. “So, if they haven’t left the house already, they should be leaving soon.”
A shared nervousness fell between the three of us. This would be the riskiest thing we’ve attempted yet. Not to mention the dumbest.
Jason parked down the street a little. Far enough away so that we could have been a visitor at the neighbor’s house, but close enough to see the Milners if they leave. Luckily, there was some distance between the homes in this neighborhood. Both cars were still in the driveway at the Milner house.
We were all silent as we watched. I let out a sigh and tried to calm my nerves. Twenty minutes passed. Then thirty.
Jason broke the silence. “I feel like we should have some kind of weapon. You know, besides pepper spray.”
“If there’s no one in the house, there’s nothing to fear,” I pointed out.
“Right.” There was sarcasm more than confirmation in Jason’s response.
“Look,” Gwen Interrupted, pointing out the front windshield.
The couple had stepped out of the house and descended the porch steps together. Aside from this, there was no kiss goodbye. No wave or nod. They barely even acknowledged each other. “Something is going on with those two,” I observed. “There seems to be some tension.”
“Do you think she knows what he did?” Gwen theorized.
I answered honestly. “I’m not sure.”
“They did recently lose a child,” Jason reminded us. “Something like that is bound to cause some distance between a couple. Or it will bring them closer together. One or the other.”
He was right. I was suddenly amazed by his ability to empathize with the couple, even though he knew Thomas Milner had killed his mother. For my part, I was focused on proving the man’s guilt and little else.
The cars backed out of the driveway one by one, starting with Mrs. Milner. Once we were sure both of them were gone, I turned to my cohorts. “This is it. Let’s connect.” We set up a three-way call between our phones with the headsets in place. “Gwen, if anything goes wrong, call 911. Do not hesitate. And let us know. You’re our eyes and ears out here.”
“I’m on it.” Gwen gave me a thumbs up.
I jerked my head toward the house and spoke to Jason. “Let’s go.”
Outside the 4 Runner, we walked casually up the street and crossed to the other side. Once we reached the Milner’s long driveway, we turned up toward the front door. “Just walk naturally,” I told Jason. “Make it look like we are supposed to be here.”
Jason indicated with a nod he understood. We reached the porch and tried the knob on the front door. Locked.
“We knew it wasn’t going to be that easy,” Jason stated.
I tried the two front windows just off the porch while Jason kept a lookout for prying eyes. “Still no luck. We’ll have to try the side of the house.”
I followed the wrap-around porch to the west side of the house. There, we tried another window with no luck but struck gold with the window near the back. It slid open, and we climbed into what appeared to be the master bedroom. The bed was unmade, and the dresser was cluttered. It looked as if the couple had stored a good amount of boxes in the closet from when they’d moved into the place.
“I guess we’ll start in here,” I motioned around the room. Jason started looking through one of the nightstands, and I turned my attention to the dresser. The search was meticulous, as we worked to find what we were looking for without giving away the fact that we were ever there. “Gwen, how’s it looking out there?” I asked over the headset.
“You’re all clear,” Gwen replied. “Just hurry.”
I finished searching every drawer and turned up nothing. As Jason looked under the bed and beneath the mattress, I moved around to the bathroom. After turning up nothing, we both stepped out into the hallway and toward the living room. Along the walls and two shelves were photos of the child the couple had lost. I felt a pang of sadness in my chest at the sight of them. Against the far wall was a computer desk that Jason went for while I turned to the kitchen.
I sifted through the obligatory junk drawer. A drawer beneath it held a rolling pin and tin foil. And there was a third that was full of potholders. I turned my attention to the cabinets and finally found a clue. There was a prescription bottle of lithium among bottles of vitamins and headache medicines. I read the name on the bottle, and suddenly, everything clicked into place.
“I got it!” I shouted with glee. Jason turned to look at me, his expression questioning. “I solved the case.”
For a split moment, Jason looked relieved, but it was short-lived. At that exact moment, Gwen’s frantic voice came over the phone connection. “Get out! Milner is back. He’s on foot. This was a trap. Get out!”
I quickly turned and snapped a photo of the pill bottle with my phone, then followed Jason back toward the window where we came in. Into the room, we both stopped in our tracks at the sight of Thomas Milner’s maniacal face staring in the window at us. We turned back and ran for the front door. Jason threw it open and ran out.
A blur of motion in front of my face caused me to flinch backward, falling on my behind. I felt the breeze from the shovel as it swung. Jason caught the brunt of the attack to the back of his head and fell unconscious. Milner stepped through the front door and stood over me, a murderous jubilation apparent in his eyes.
“Burglars in my house,” he growled. “I was forced to defend myself and my home.”
He hefted the shovel over his head and prepared to strike. My instincts took over, and I kicked my foot out, making direct contact with his groin. He lost his grip on the shovel as he crumpled to the floor. I stood on legs that felt like rubber and ran past him to Jason.
“Jason, get up,” I pleaded, slapping him lightly on the cheeks. He mumbled something but seemed unable to move or even open his eyes.
I noticed movement from the corner of my eye and looked up in time to see the head of the shovel screaming toward me. Another flinch backward sent me tumbling down the porch stairs to the sidewalk below. The shovel slammed against the doorframe with a force that caused the wood to splinter.
“Hold still!” Milner screamed. He stumbled onto the porch and over the still incapacitated form of my boyfriend. I stood to run and could hear the killer’s footfalls through the yard as he ran after me. I expected to feel the shovel to my skull at any moment and only stopped when the flashing lights of a police car appeared on the street in front of me.
“Stop where you are!” the officer shouted. He had appeared from the driver’s side with his gun pointed at me. I stopped and dropped to my knees. “You!” the cop warned, “Drop the shovel and get on your knees.”
I was relieved when I heard the shovel hit the ground with a clank. I looked back over my shoulder to see Milner carefully go to his knees just a few feet behind me.
Another patrol car appeared, and two more officers approached on foot while the first continued to hold his gun on my would-be murderer and me. “Hands above your heads.”
I did what I was told and soon felt each of my hands pulled behind me. I was cuffed and helped to my feet. Behind me, Milner was cuffed as well, and we were each led to the back seat of our own patrol car. From there, I watched as an ambulance arrived. The paramedics rushed to Jason, checked his vitals, and eventually lifted him onto a gurney with a brace around his neck.
While all this went on, I sat and watched, racked with worry for Jason and relief that the police arrived before things got much worse. Gwen had come through with a job well done. It was nice to have our “guy in the van”. Looking back at Jason’s 4 Runner, I could see her peeking out at the scene as it unfolded from the back seat. I was glad she’d stayed hidden, and the SUV was parked so far away from the house that the police seemed to pay it no mind.
After nearly thirty minutes, the ambulance pulled away. Then, one of the officers dropped behind the wheel of the car I sat in and drove away from the house. As we passed the car that held Thomas Milner, our eyes met. There was a rage in that glare. Rage and murderous intent. Thomas Milner was not done with me. But if all went well at the police station, I would be done with him for good.